• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권17호
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• pp.7523-7527
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• 2015

Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pALL) patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City represent a pure Saudi Arabian population. ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL patients have good prognosis as compared to ETV6-RUNX1 negative counterparts. Therefore, frequencies of these two patient groups have a huge consideration in treatment strategies of pALL in a given population. Different geographical locations have been reported to have different frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 ranging from 10% in Southeast Asia to 30% in Australia. Aim: Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the ETV6-RUNX1 status of Saudi Arabian pALL patients and its association with clinical parameters and early remission. Materials and Methods: Clinical parameters and ETV6-RUNX1 status (using FISH technique) of pALL patients attending the Pediatric Oncology Clinic, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh from 2006 to 2011 were studied. Comparisons between ETV6-RUNX1 positive and negative groups were accomplished using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Out of 54 patients, 33 were male and 21 were females (ratio 1.57:1). B- and T-cell lineages were found in 47 (87%) and 7 (13%) patients respectively. Only 5 (9.3%) patients were ETV6-RUNX1 positive while 49(80.7%) were ETV6-RUNX1 negative. All ETV6-RUNX1 patients (100%) were of B-cell lineage and 80% (4/5) were in the 3-7 year age group. None of the ETV6-RUNX11 patients had ${\geq}5%$ blasts (no remission) at day 14 as compared with 9% in the ETV6-RUNX1 negative group (Figure 1). Conclusions: Frequency of ETV6-RUNX1 positive patients (less than 10%) in our pALL patients is much lower than reported for most European countries, North America, Australia and Japan while it is in accordance with ETV6-RUNX1 frequencies from Egypt (11.6%), Pakistan (10%), Spain (2%) and India (5-7%). This shows ethnic differences in genetics of pALL as well as higher frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL mostly in more industrialized countries, probably due to some industrial pollutants or westernized lifestyle.

• Advances in nano research
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.129-139
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• 2023

Emerge of nanotechnology has affected many aspects of our life and also triggers research studies in many fields. Nano-medicine are proven to be effective in encountering diseases. In the present study, aspects of the applications and effectiveness of nano-medicine in pediatrics patients are studied. In this regard, using experimental data of previous published researches, combination and dose of nano-medicines are optimized using response surface method and neural-fuzzy inference network. The input parameters of the selected multiple nano-medicines are dose and type and the output is the effectiveness of the combinations using IC50 parameter. A detailed parameter study is presented to observe effects of each inputs on the IC50. The results indicate that personalized scaling of nano-medicine is required in therapy of pediatric diseases such as cancers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권7호
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• pp.3377-3380
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• 2016

The proportion of lung cancer patients under 50 years old is small at approximately 5-10%, but as with patients older than 50, the number is on the rise. Although lung cancer treatment strategies have undergone extensive transformation in recent years based on the presence or absence of oncogenic driver mutations, there are few reports regarding these mutations in the young or the relationship between clinical setting and prognosis. Therefore, we conducted a study of clinical features in 36 patients under the age of 50 who were diagnosed with primary lung cancer from October 2008 to November 2015. The 22 patients in stages I through III A underwent operations, and all 17 whose lung cancer were detected through screening were candidates for surgery. Gene analysis was conducted for 26 (72.2%); 10 (38.5%) were positive for EGFR gene mutations, and ALK gene translocation was present in 4 (15.4%). In stage IV patients, the median progression free survival (PFS) in the ALK translocation positive and negative patients was 518 days and 130 days, respectively, and the median overall survival (OS) was not reached and 280 days, respectively. A trend toward extended PFS (p=0.203) and OS (p=0.056) was observed in patients positive for ALK translocation. We must strive for early detection by increasing screening rates and evaluate oncogenic driver mutations important for prognosis of lung cancer in the young.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.75-82
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• 2008

Neuroblastoma arises from the primitive neural crest cells, and is a common malignancy in childhood. The clinical features are characterized by biological heterogeneity. Neuronal degeneration and differentiation occur in some patients. However treatment in the high risk group accounting for approximately half, has not been satisfactory despite a multimodal approach. Therefore, effective treatment is determined by the risk group of prognostic factors, such as age at diagnosis, stage of disease, pathological finding and N-myc amplification. Neuroblastoma can be diagnosed prenatally, which suggests its origin during the normal embryogenesis. Recent knowledge of molecular biology, such as Trk genes, and the concept of cancer stem cells have given us some improved understanding on this disease. Currently, targeted therapies based on the molecular biology of neuroblastoma are under investigation and increasing survival rate and decreasing late complications could be appreciated.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.156-161
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• 2008

목 적 : 막창자염은 면역기능이 저하되고 호중구가 감소된 소아암 환자에서 호발하는 괴사성 장염으로 사망률이 매우 높은 것으로 알려져 있다. 저자들은 항암치료 중 발생한 막창자염에 대하여 적극적인 내과적 치료와 항생제 치료를 시행하여 그 치료성적을 분석하고자 본 연구를 시행하였다. 방 법 : 2002년 8월부터 2007년 7월까지 영남대학교병원 소아과에 입원하여 항암화학요법을 받은 소아암 환자 207명 중 막창자염으로 진단받은 12명을 대상으로 의무기록을 분석하였다. 진단은 임상증상과 신체검진소견, 복부단순촬영검사, 복부초음파검사와 복부전산화단층촬영으로 하였다. 항암화학요법 시행 후 증상 발생일, 백혈구수, 절대호중구수, 치료항생제의 종류 및 치료기간과 치료결과를 분석하였다. 결 과 : 막창자염으로 임상적 진단을 받은 환자는 12명(5.7%)이었으며, 임상증상은 복부통증 및 압통 12명(100%), 발열 12명(100%), 설사 9명(75%), 구토 5명(41%), 반발압통 3명(25%) 등이었다. 항암화학요법 종료일로부터 증상 발생일까지의 기간의 중앙값은 12일(범위 3-18일)이었다. 백혈구수의 중앙값은 340 / L$(30-1,270/{\mu}L)$이었으며, 절대호중구수의 중앙값은 $116/{\mu}L(0-648/{\mu}L$)이었다. 치료는 항생제 요법과 충분한 수분 공급 및 장의 휴식 등 보존적 요법을 시행하였으며 환자 12명 모두 증상이 호전되었고, 수술적 치료를 받은 경우는 없었다. 항생제 조합의 선택에 따른 항생제 사용기간의 통계적인 차이는 없었다(P=0.74). 결 론 : 항암화학요법을 받는 소아암 환자에서 발열, 우하복부 압통, 호중구감소증이 있을 때는 막창자염을 의심하여야 하며, 조기진단 및 적극적인 내과적 치료와 항생제 요법을 시행하여 좋은 결과를 얻을 수 있다고 생각된다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.927-930
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• 2012

Background and Objectives: Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are flexible and nonlinear models which can be used by clinical oncologists in medical research as decision making tools. This study aimed to predict distant metastasis (DM) of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients using an ANN model. Methods: The data of this study were gathered from 1219 registered CRC patients at the Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Disease of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (January 2002 and October 2007). For prediction of DM in CRC patients, neural network (NN) and logistic regression (LR) models were used. Then, the concordance index (C index) and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) were used for comparison of neural network and logistic regression models. Data analysis was performed with R 2.14.1 software. Results: The C indices of ANN and LR models for colon cancer data were calculated to be 0.812 and 0.779, respectively. Based on testing dataset, the AUROC for ANN and LR models were 0.82 and 0.77, respectively. This means that the accuracy of ANN prediction was better than for LR prediction. Conclusion: The ANN model is a suitable method for predicting DM and in that case is suggested as a good classifier that usefulness to treatment goals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권13호
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• pp.5459-5462
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• 2015

This case series study was performed for all 83 children below 14 years old suffering from cancer during 2010-2013 who were registered in Ardabil pediatric cancer registry (APCR). The required data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS.19 statistical methods software. Some 51 (61.4%) of cases were male. The mean age of patients was 5.8 years. Of the total, 60 (72.3%) of cases were from urban areas. Results showed that leukemia with 54.2%, CNS with 12% and neuroblastoma with 8.4% were the most prevalent childhood malignancies in Ardabil province. Based on the under 14 year old population estimated from Ardabil province, the cumulative incidence rate was 95.4 patients per one million. The incidence rate was relatively high so that childhood cancers should be considered as an important issue in health policy making in Ardabil province of Iran.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.3229-3235
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• 2013

Background: Many breast cancers are caused by certain rare and familial mutations in the high or moderate penetrance genes BRCA1, BRCA2 and CHEK2. The aim of this study was to examine the allele and genotype frequencies of seven mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2 and CHEK2 genes in breast cancer patients and to investigate their isolated and combined associations with breast cancer risk. Methods: We genotyped seven mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2 and CHEK2 genes and then analyzed single variations and haplotype associations in 106 breast cancer patients and 80 healthy controls. Results: We found significant associations in the analyses of CHEK2- 1100delC (p=0.001) and BRCA1-5382insC (p=0.021) mutations in breast cancer patients compared to controls. The highest risk was observed among breast cancer patients carrying both CHEK2-1100delC and BRCA2- Met784Val mutations (OR=0.093; 95%CI 0.021-0.423; p=0.001). We identified one previously undescribed BRCA2 and a CHEK2 four-marker haplotype of A-C-G-C which was overrepresented ($X^2$=7.655; p=0.0057) in the patient group compared to controls. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a previously undescribed BRCA2 and CHEK2 A-C-G-C haplotype in association with the breast cancer in our population. Our results further suggest that the CHEK2-1100delC mutation in combination with BRCA2-Met784Val may lead to an unexpected high risk which needs to be confirmed in larger cohorts in order to better understand their role in the development and prognosis of breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권7호
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• pp.3135-3141
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• 2012

This study was designed to adapt the Turkish versions of scales to evaluate fatigue in children with cancer from the perspectives of the children, parents and staff. The objective of this study was to validate "Child Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (CFS-24 hours), "Parent Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (PFS-24 hours) and "Staff Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (SFS-24 hours) for use in Turkish clinical research settings. Translation of the scales into Turkish and validity and reliability tests were performed. The validity of the translated scales was assessed with language validity and content validity. The reliability of the translated scales was assessed with internal consistency. The scales were evaluated by considering the following: calculation of the Cronbach alpha coefficient for parallel form reliability with 52 pediatric cancer patients, 86 parents and 43 nurses. The internal consistency was estimated as 0.88 for the Child Fatigue Scale-24 hours, 0.77 for the Parent Fatigue Scale-24 hours, and 0.72 for the Staff Fatigue Scale-24 hours (Cronbach's ${\alpha}$). The Turkish version of the Child Fatigue Scale -24 hours, the Parent Fatigue Scale -24 hours and the Staff Fatigue Scale -24 hours were judged reliable and valid instruments to assess fatigue in children and showed good psychometric properties. These scales should assist in understanding to what extent initiatives can minimize or eliminate fatigue. Our scales are recommended for further studies and use in pediatric oncology clinics as routine measurements and nursing initiatives should be planned accordingly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.1057-1060
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• 2013

Recent investigations have confirmed up-regulation of serum miR-21 and its diagnostic and prognostic value in several human malignancies. In this study, we examined serum miR-21 levels in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients, and explored its association with clinicopathological factors and prognosis. The results showed significantly higher serum miR-21 levels in EOC patients than in healthy controls. In addition, increased serum miR-21 expression was correlated with advanced FIGO stage, high tumor grade, and shortened overall survival. These findings indicate that serum miR-21 may serve as a novel diagnostic and prognostic marker, and be used as a therapeutic target for the treatment of EOC.